Legislator Takes Snet Complaint To Regulators

April 04, 1997|By DAVID OWENS; Courant Staff Writer

SIMSBURY — State Sen. James T. Fleming has filed a complaint with state utility regulators about Southern New England Telephone's failure to maintain telephone services in Simsbury three times since December.

Public safety was put at risk when electrical service was not restored in a timely manner and the company's battery-powered backup system was drained of power, said Fleming, a Republican who lives in Simsbury.

``During three occasions this winter, Simsbury lost electrical power for longer than 12 hours and because of this the telephone lines did not function,'' Fleming wrote in his letter to the chairman of the state Department of Public Utility Control.

``When local emergency officials have contacted SNET to inform them that the backup batteries were about to fail and to inquire as to what SNET intended to do to maintain telephone service, SNET was not very helpful.''

Simsbury has been hard hit by bad weather this winter. Earlier this week many town residents lost electrical service for the fourth time since December.

Telephones often remain in service during power outages. That changed in Simsbury, however, with the installation of a new fiber- optic network, Fleming contends.

The fiber-optic lines, unlike the previous telephone lines, need a separate source of electricity for them to function, Fleming said. SNET also installed backup batteries in town so that residents could use their telephones when power lines are down.

``The problem with these batteries, however, is that they only last around 12 hours,'' said Fleming, the state Senate's minority leader pro tem. ``If power is not restored within that time frame, the phone lines simply will not work.''

Kevin Moore, a spokesman for SNET, said the company is investigating Fleming's concerns. ``We're not happy with what occurred up in Simsbury either,'' he said. ``We are investigating this entire situation.''

In the vast majority of power outages, the batteries work fine. They provide power for about 16 hours, Moore said, not 12.

``For that to run out before commercial power is restored is really very rare,'' he said. ``It typically might happen in these severe storms we've had. In these kinds of circumstances . . . we might bring in a portable generator to assist until the commercial power is restored.''

Fleming said the repeated phone problems show that SNET has not taken steps to correct a weakness in its system.

``By registering my complaint with DPUC, I am hoping that we will see some immediate steps taken to upgrade the system,'' he said.

Beryl Lyons, a spokesperson for DPUC, said the agency will look into the complaint and respond to Fleming.